Many of us work in environments that strive to promote collaboration, but have you ever stopped to think about the skills that collaboration demands?

This was the focus of Harvard Professor Francesca Gino’s recent work where she shares her findings in the article titled, “Cracking the Code of Sustained Collaboration: Six new tools for training people to work better together.” It can be found in the November-December 2019 issue of Harvard Business Review.

When building collaboration skills, she first recommends teaching people to listen. This is excellent advice and can help not only when collaborating with co-workers, but also with clients, vendors and partners.

One of my favorite business books is “Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone,” written by Mark Goulston. Over the years I’ve used it repeatedly. In addition to providing insight into the persuasion cycle and how listening impacts it, Goulston also includes a variety of questions that can be asked to overcome conflict, deepen relationships and improve empathy with others.

Speaking of empathy, the next suggestion from Gino is that to improve collaboration you must also “train people to practice empathy.” This often begins with self-examination or awareness of your mindset. She explains that when you’re working with others, if you’re judging them, you may begin to arrive at conclusions that can undermine collaboration.

For instance, you may think to yourself, this person isn’t very helpful or caring. Once you start down this path, communication can break down. Instead of judging, seek to understand the other person’s behavior, attitude or beliefs. In the full article, you’ll find ideas on how to do this.

The third tip surrounds feedback. For some of us, this is a loaded term, associated with shortcomings or things that need to be improved. However, according to Gino, “Good collaboration involves giving and receiving feedback well – and from a position of influence rather than authority.” She then goes on to describe the methods for improving feedback loops.

Fourth, to improve collaboration, you may want to “teach people to lead and follow.” As a leader, this can be challenging. When you have lots of experience or want something done a particular way, it can be difficult to cede control to others. However, while initially it might be uncomfortable, relinquishing control allows others to take ownership and share ideas that may not have otherwise surfaced.

The final tips involve the ability to speak with clarity and how to train people to have win-win interactions. Clearly, it’s much harder to collaborate if the other party doesn’t understand what you’re trying to say or why it’s important.

If interactions aren’t win-win, they often fail. In sales, it’s well known that if you want long-term success, deals need to be win-win. When achieved, this means satisfied customers, long-term relationships, repeat business and good referrals. To achieve win-win outcomes you often need to approach interactions or negotiations as partners and not adversaries. Gino reminds us that by investigating each other’s needs often the best outcome can be achieved.

If you want to learn more about these tips, how they’re mutually supportive and interdependent, I highly recommend reading Gino’s article. For more on her work, please check out my other blog: “Rebel with a Cause or Just Good Leadership.”